Rosecrans Baldwin
Speaking of budgeting, I did another weekly meal plan staying under my budget of $156.62! That’s half of what economists think Canadians spend on groceries on a weekly basis. I want you to have all the tools to be able to feed your family 7 healthy meals, while not putting yourself into the poorhouse! I hope you enjoy and please let me know if you follow this weekly plan and if you were able to stick to the budget as well!
Sunday:
Honey Mustard Pork with Corn & Mashed PotatoesThursday: Quiche and Mandarin Feta Salad
Saturday: Spring Pasta Primavera
These items are ALWAYS in my pantry or fridge. This tip bares repeating… As soon as I see an item running out it goes on the my shopping list. If they come up on my PC Points list or go on sale, I buy them. We have a second fridge in the garage, so I always have eggs, mayo, soy sauce, etc. on hand. It may take you a while and some money to get this system going but once you do… your wallet will thank you 🙂
Things I need for this week’s menu that I already have in my kitchen (my staple items) are listed below and in red.
Shopping List
3 chicken breasts
1 lb ground beef
1 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 white vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 cup rice
1/2 cup butter or margarine
red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
paprika
garlic powder
2 tbsp taco seasoning (My recipe is below if you’re out)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cans corn
4 yellow onion
2 tbsp fresh ginger
1 lb pasta of your choice
1/4 cup almonds
Tabasco Sauce
chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup feta
1 pre-made 9-inch pie crust (I bought a box of 2)
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 bell peppers (I had 2 at home so I bought 1)
1 bunch cilantro
8 large eggs (bought a dozen)
1/4 cup heavy cream (250ml)
2 cups orzo
I stock up on meat when it’s on sale so I only needed to buy the steak for this week. This is the meat we need at the prices of each.
3 chicken breasts:
I bought 9 breasts for $25.32 = $8.44 for 3 bre
4 boneless pork chops:
I had a large pork loin I bought for $1.99/lb we cut it into 4 meals = $2.98/meal
1lb ground beef (not extra lean so I’ll make sure I drain!)
$14.27 for 4lbs = $3.56/lb
1.5 lb Steak was $15.72 and we divided it into 2 and saved half for our next steak salad. =$7.86
MEAT = $22.84
Meat $22.84
Menu $57.41
Lunches & Stock Up $60.86
TOTAL= $141.11
$15.51 UNDER!!
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon honey
4 centre cut boneless pork chops
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup panko
4 potatoes (yellow are best)
2 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
salt and pepper
1 can corn, drained
oil spray
Add cut up potatoes to pot of salted boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft to pierce with fork.
Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Combine mustard and honey and marinate the pork chops at least 4 hours or overnight for best results. Place panko and Italian seasoning in a large shallow bowl.
Leaving whatever mustard that clings to the pork, press into the panko crumbs. Discard the rest of the marinade.
Lightly spray the tray/basket with oil and transfer the chops, in batches as needed.
Spritz the top with oil and use you Air Fryer 400F 10 to 12 minutes turning half way, spritzing both sides with oil.
We love steak. Actually, steak is Ninja’s favourite dinner, especially during barbeque season! That’s tough though because beef is ridiculously expensive lately. I found that we can eliminate this problem by using our steak wisely. In this case, I bought 3 top sirloin steaks and we divided that into 2 meals. I froze 1 and a half steaks and sliced the other 1 and a half steaks up nice and thin against the grain to use in our Thai Salad! This was super delicious! Everybody loved it, the sun was shining and it was just the perfect meal to end the day! We satisfied our steak craving, ate a big healthy dinner, and saved money by not eating a steak each! Honestly, we probably don’t need that much beef anyways!! Every part of this recipe was a win except for the fact that I forgot the red onion!! Afterwards we saw the pile of onions cut in the fridge and laughed but deep down we know, it would have been even better with the onion 😜.
Thai Beef Salad
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
6 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4-1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon ginger, very finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound steak, trimmed of excess fat
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 romaine hearts, chopped
1/2 cucumber, sliced (not peeled)
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
In a medium bowl whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, brown sugar, vegetable oil, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger and garlic.
Thinly slice the steak against the grain. Add half the marinade to the steak, coat well and let marinate for 20 minutes and reserve the rest for the salad dressing. Add butter to a large heavy skillet on high heat and sear steak for 2 minutes on each side.
To each salad bowl add the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, and green onions. Toss gently with remaining dressing and top with steak.
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups uncooked orzo
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 Romaine heart, shredded
1/4 pint tomatoes, diced
Cook ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain fat, if any.
Add the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and taco seasoning to the pan. Mix everything together and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth and orzo to the pan and stir. Mix well, making sure the orzo is mixed well with the liquid. Bring to a boil.
Turn heat down to medium-low, mix ingredients again and cover. Cook for approximately 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently (2-3 times) throughout the process, so the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the cheese. Top with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onions, cilantro and/or sour cream.
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into big pieces
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
Melt butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the asparagus, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.
Pour in vegetable broth. Bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and simmer uncovered until the asparagus is very tender but still bright green, 8 to 12 minutes.
Carefully use an immersion blender and blend until completely smooth. (Alternatively, transfer the soup to a blender).
Stir in heavy cream.
Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with the reserved raw asparagus tips, if using.
I doubled up and made 2! I put 1 in the freezer and we will have it in 2 weeks when I am craving this amazing quiche again! I also had a little bit of shredded Italian cheese leftover from last week so I used that before opening the new brick of cheese. This is a staple on our monthly menu. I try to keep frozen pie shells in the freezer and whenever I have veggie odds and ends in the fridge, I make a couple of quiches! You can use whatever veggies you want, we love spinach in ours! You can use leftover meat or deli meat, whatever you have on hand! This salad is our FAVOURITE. My Mom used to make it and SBean calls it Nana’s Salad. She makes herself a batch of dressing every week and we pair this light and refreshing salad with pretty much everything, it is tasty AND versatile!
1 pre-made 9-inch pie crust
1 cup cheese, shredded & divided
1 tablespoon oil, divided
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, cut small
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper
5 eggs
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375º F.
Heat half a tablespoon of oil to medium-high heat in a large pan or skillet. Add ham and saute until starting to brown.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over bottom of pie crust. Top with ham.
Heat the rest of the oil in same pan. Add onion, peppers and broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until and onions are slightly tender.
Add garlic, salt and pepper. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and arrange over ham in pie crust.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, paprika, hot sauce and milk together. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix until blended. Pour over ham and vegetables in pie crust (do not overfill). Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Place a large baking dish halfway filled with water in bottom rack of oven (this adds moisture to quiche). Place quiche on top rack and bake 40-45 minutes.
Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
This is one of our favourite dinners! I probably make it once a month at least. It’s one that nobody complains about, is filling, uses minimal ingredients AND is SUPER easy! I like to make extra rice and either do Fried Rice next week or pick 2 recipes with rice that week and save half for this recipe later in the week. I mix up the sauce in the morning when I pull out the chicken and then toss it all together at dinner time, then when it’s time you just need to chop the pepper and cilantro while the chicken is cooking… 15 minutes for a tasty, easy and satisfying dinner!
2 tablespoons lime zest
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn
1 bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
To a measuring cup, add the lime zest, lime juice, honey, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, & pepper. Whisk to combine; set sauce aside.
To a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, add chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, flipping so all sides cook evenly.
Add the sauce. Allow sauce to bubble at a medium-fast boil for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and chicken is cooked through. Stir sauce and flip chicken throughout.
Turn the heat to low and add the rice, black beans, corn, peppers, & cilantro. Stir well to combine. Cook until everything is heated through. Garnish with a pinch of cilantro.
We did it! We made it through the whole week! Are you full? 😂 I like to end my week with dishes that allow me to use up whatever I have in the fridge and pasta is usually that kind of dish! The original recipe called for green beans but they looked absolutely disgusting when I went grocery shopping so I picked up broccoli instead, I used the tops of the asparagus from my soup and snap peas to add to my pasta but you can add whatever you have left in your fridge or you could use green beans or frozen peas. As long as you have 2 cups of yummy spring vegetables to make this fresh Spring Pasta Primavera that your family will love just as much as mine did.
Adapted from Tasting With Tina
1 lb pasta
2 tablespoons oil
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup white wine
salt and pepper
1/2 cup snap peas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup feta
Cook pasta in pot according to package directions. When pasta is done, drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.
Add garlic, red pepper flakes, peas, broccoli, and asparagus, cook for a few minutes. Add white wine, and salt and pepper. Let simmer for 3 minutes.
Add lemon juice to the pan. Add pasta, and stir well. If pasta seems dry, add pasta water 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
Top with crumbled feta cheese.
